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ARB Newsclips for November 6, 2012.
This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
of Communications. You may need to sign in or register with
individual websites to view some of the following news articles.
AIR POLLUTION
Minnesota company to pay for violating California air rules. The
California Air Resources Board said Birchwood Laboratories, a
Minnesota-based distributor of various consumer products, has
agreed to pay $500,000 for violating rules that protect air
quality. ARB said Birchwood sold Casey Gun Scrubber
Solvent/Degreaser in California, and the product exceeded state
limits for chemicals known as volatile organic compounds which
contribute to the formation of smog. The product also contained
trichloroethylene, a toxic air contaminant. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/05/4962469/minnesota-company-to-pay-for-violating.html
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/11/05/2285631/minnesota-company-to-pay-for-violating.html
Former EPA air chief calls for factoring compliance costs into
ozone standards. Former U.S. EPA air chief Jeff Holmstead called
on the agency's advisory panel to take cost into consideration
when recommending a new ozone air standard next year. Under the
Clean Air Act, EPA is forbidden from considering costs when
developing national ambient air quality standards. The law
requires that the agency focus solely on protecting public
health. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2012/11/06/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
CLIMATE CHANGE
Indian monsoons may fail more often due to climate change-study.
The Indian monsoon is likely to fail more often in the next 200
years threatening food supplies, unless governments agree how to
limit climate change, a study showed on Tuesday. The monsoon
rains could collapse about every fifth year between 2150 and 2200
with continued global warming, blamed mainly on human burning of
fossil fuels, and related shifts in tropical air flows, it said.
"Monsoon failure becomes much more frequent" as temperatures
rise…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/climate-monsoon-idUSL5E8M5COP20121106
Cooling gases must fall to curb global warming. F-gases, used in
refrigeration and linked with high levels of global warming, need
to be cut substantially by 2030, Europe's climate boss said on
Tuesday. She added that she would be pushing for a global plan on
cutting fluorinated gases at U.N. climate change talks in Doha
beginning later this month. "F-gases should be two-thirds reduced
from today's levels by 2030," Climate Commissioner Connie
Hedegaard told an audience representing the refrigeration
industry. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/eu-fgas-idUSL5E8M6BGD20121106
EU to Propose Tighter Rules on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases. The
European Union aims to propose “in the coming days” tighter rules
on fluorinated greenhouse gases as a part of the bloc’s
sustainable development drive, Climate Commissioner Connie
Hedegaard said today. Hedegaard said she hoped national
governments and the European Parliament will give “a high
priority” to the planned draft revised regulation on the
so-called F-gases. EU regulation already in place would lead to
the stabilization of fluorinated gas emissions at current
levels…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-11-06/eu-to-propose-tighter-rules-on-fluorinated-greenhouse-gases-1-.html
EU Carbon for December Erases Gains as Auctions List Published.
European Union carbon erased gains after reaching its highest in
almost two months as a list of EU allowances auctions for the
third phase of the bloc’s market showed less volume than expected
was to be sold this year. The European Energy Exchange AG
yesterday published an updated list of auctions that showed
twelve of 25 EU member states will sell at least 4.48 million
tons of permits in each of nine sales from Nov. 20 through Dec.
18. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-06/eu-carbon-for-december-trades-near-two-month-high-on-auctions.html
Climate policy advances in the states, but slowly. While
Tuesday’s election may not break the national logjam over how to
address climate change, a few states will take decisive action on
energy policy in the coming week. On Nov. 14, California will
hold the nation’s largest-ever auction of carbon pollution
allowances, requiring many of the state’s biggest utilities and
manufacturers to either cut their greenhouse-gas output or buy
permits to compensate for it. Michigan residents vote Tuesday on
whether the state will require that 25 percent of its electricity
be produced from renewable energy by 2025. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-policy-advances-in-the-states-but-slowly/2012/11/05/89380eee-1eb7-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_print.html
California's first auction of greenhouse-gas credits nears. Some
industrial businesses are still fighting the cap-and-trade
program, which requires big polluters to either reduce their
emissions or buy credits to cover the difference. The auction is
Nov. 14. After six years of preparation, California is poised to
become the first state to combat global warming by capping
greenhouse gas emissions and making major polluters pay to
release more of these gases into the atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-calif-pollution-credits-20121106,0,2129447.story
Live Oak looking at greenhouse gas emissions. A report by the
Sierra Business Council on greenhouse gas emissions in Live Oak,
part of an effort to address climate change that the group says
will continue unless emissions are reduced, goes before the Live
Oak City Council when it meets Wednesday. "The next step for the
city is whatever we choose," said Jim Goodwin, city manager. "We
don't have any next step planned." He described the report as
simply a starting point to see what policy choices Live Oak may
make. All such studies point to vehicles as the primary
contributor to emissions, Goodwin said. Posted.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/emissions-120834-oak-live.html
Carbon buried in soil doesn't stay there. Carbon buried in soil
rises again as carbon emissions, a clue to understanding past and
future global climate change, U.S. and European scientists say.
Researchers, including plant scientist Johan Six of the
University of California, Davis, say that while earlier studies
have found erosion can bury carbon in the soil, acting as a
carbon sink or storage, part of that sink is only temporary. They
estimated roughly half of the carbon buried in soil by erosion
will be re-released into the atmosphere within about 500 years,
and possibly faster due to climate change. Posted.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/11/05/Carbon-buried-in-soil-doesnt-stay-there/UPI-53441352167158/#ixzz2BSsYprfV
Clouded future for climate change negotiators. While many of
Washington's armchair election watchers speculate which Cabinet
secretaries might stay or go if President Obama wins a second
term today, international environmental advocates have their eyes
on the lower-tier, yet critical, post of climate ambassador. U.S.
Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, the United States'
point person on global warming, has given little indication of
his future plans. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/06/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
Carbon benefits of soil erosion wear off over time – study. The
net benefits of soil erosion could only be a temporary fix for
mitigating climate change in the long run, a study finds. While
erosion is often pointed to as a process that unearths carbon in
the soil and releases it into the atmosphere to accelerate
climate change, the opposite is also true, said Johan Six, a
professor of plant sciences at the University of California,
Davis, and author of a study in this week's Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/06/5 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
World must cut carbon intensity by 5% every year – report. Carbon
intensity will have to be cut by 5 percent per year till 2050 to
limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius,
according to a report by the London office of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). That's a far cry from the 0.8
percent yearly cut in carbon intensity seen between 2000 and
2011. In its annual Low Carbon Economy Index, PwC examined the
progress of developed and emerging economies toward reducing
their carbon intensity, or their emissions per unit of gross
domestic product. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/06/11 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
DIESEL EMISSIONS
South Coast AQMD Awards $34.2M to Replace, Clean Up Diesel School
Buses. The South Coast Air Quality Management District awarded
$32.9 million to Southern California school districts on Friday
to help them purchase clean-burning buses to replace older diesel
school buses in their fleets. The AQMD also awarded $1.3 million
to enable districts to retrofit their diesel school buses with
particulate matter traps that reduce diesel emissions. Posted.
http://www.stnonline.com/home/latest-news/4867-south-coast-aqmd-awards-342m-to-replace-clean-up-diesel-school-buses
CARB-approved DPF recalled after another brush fire. The recent
product recall of a diesel particulate filter was issued after a
three-acre brush fire in early August – the second fire started
by a particular make and model built by Cleaire Advanced Emission
Controls. According to the California Air Resources Board, which
announced the recall last week, a three-acre brushfire was
ignited Aug. 4 after the failure of a LongMile diesel particulate
filter. LongMile is made by San Diego-based Cleaire. Posted.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=24384
FUELS
Alternative fuel delivery approved for New Jersey after Sandy.
U.S. biofuel providers are being allowed to reroute critical
supplies to New Jersey to help alleviate shortages caused by
Hurricane Sandy, two U.S. Senators said Tuesday. A barge bearing
17.6 million gallons of fuel should arrive into New Jersey by
Thursday following an easing of rules approved by Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson that had been
requested by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Sen. Robert Menendez,
both Democrats from New Jersey. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/storm-sandy-biofuels-idUSL1E8M66GG20121106
Food waste from Marin restaurants may soon be generating
electricity. A big chunk of the commercial food waste that
central Marin County produces could soon be diverted from
landfills and converted into methane gas for electricity
generation. The Central Marin Sanitation Agency in San Rafael
expects to complete about $250,000 in upgrades to its treatment
plant by January to allow it to process food waste and more
caustic fats, oil and grease. An on-site power station at the
plant already produces enough electricity from sewage-generated
methane to run the plant for 12 hours a day. Adding food waste
would make the plant's methane digester more efficient. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_21935299/food-waste-from-marin-restaurants-may-soon-be
Pacific Ethanol to separate corn oil at Stockton plant.
Low-carbon ethanol producer and marketer Pacific Ethanol Inc.
announced Monday it will implement a high-tech system to separate
out corn oil at its plant in Stockton. Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:
PEIX) has awarded a contract to Edeniq Inc. to implement the
Visalia-based company’s patented oil separation technology at the
plant by the second quarter of 2013. In June, Sacramento-based
Pacific Ethanol said it intends to implement corn oil separation
at each of its ethanol plants. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/11/05/pacific-ethanol-corn-oil-separation.html
Fuel economy of new vehicles sold hits record high. The average
fuel economy of new vehicles purchased in the United States hit a
record-breaking high last month, according to research by the
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
The average window-sticker value of all new cars, light trucks,
minivans and SUVs purchased in October was 24.1 mpg, up from 23.8
mpg in September. Last month's fuel economy levels mark a 20
percent increase, or a 4 mpg improvement, from October 2007, when
UMTRI began its recording project. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/06/9 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
HIGH-SPEED RAIL
State panel vote may clear path for high-speed rail land deals.
A vote today at the state Capitol could clear the way for buying
land needed for high-speed rail right of way through the central
San Joaquin Valley. The state Public Works Board, which includes
the directors of the state's Finance, General Services and
Transportation departments, will meet at 10 a.m. to consider
streamlining the purchase of about 1,100 parcels along the
California High-Speed Rail Authority's proposed train route
between Madera and Bakersfield. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/05/3055711/state-panel-vote-may-clear-path.html
GREEN ENERGY
Calif. initiative could send $2.5B to clean energy. California
voters will decide today whether to approve a ballot measure that
would change how some businesses are taxed and use half of an
expected $1 billion annually in new state revenues to fund clean
energy. Proposition 39 would mandate that all businesses
operating in California pay taxes based on their in-state sales.
Under current law, companies can chose that method or one that
also factors in buildings and workers in the Golden State. The
change is expected to produce that $1 billion yearly in new
proceeds. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/06/3 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
MISCELLANEOUS
Diablo Canyon nuke plant quake study is opposed. California
Coastal Commission staff members have opposed an offshore
earthquake survey near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant,
saying it could disturb and even kill marine animals. The
commission was expected to vote Nov. 14 on a request by Pacific
Gas & Electric Co. to conduct the survey over hundreds of square
nautical miles off the San Luis Obispo County coast. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Diablo-Canyon-nuke-plant-quake-study-is-opposed-4012753.php#ixzz2BTEKuo3n
State receives federal grant for Santa Susana field lab cleanup.
The California Department of Toxic Substance Control, tasked with
overseeing the cleanup of the polluted Santa Susana Field
Laboratory, received a $5.6 million grant from the Energy
Department to aid in the work. The DOE owns the part of the land
at the 2,850-acre former test site that was home to 10
experimental nuclear reactors. Rocket engine testing took place
in different areas on the property that sits in the hills south
of Simi Valley. The land is now contaminated with chemical and
radiological materials. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/nov/05/state-receives-federal-grant-for-santa-susana/?print=1
Brazilian, U.S. firms to launch world's largest biofuel marketer.
Brazil's Copersucar and U.S. Company Eco-Energy announced Monday
that they are linking their ethanol operations to create the
largest biofuel marketer in the world. The two firms together
control 12 percent of the global market for ethanol, with a
combined supply capacity of 2.6 billion gallons (10 billion
liters) of biofuel per year, the partners said in a press
release. Brazil makes ethanol from sugar, while U.S. producers
use corn as raw material.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/11/05/brazilian-us-firms-to-launch-world-largest-biofuel-marketer/#ixzz2BSzb2dR9
OPINIONS
Geoengineering is the answer to climate change. Unless it isn’t.
Is it time to get serious about geoengineering our way out of
climate change? Dozens of schemes have been devised to cool the
planet. We could launch a vast fleet of ships to whiten the
clouds by spraying salt mist, or squirt sulfuric acid into the
stratosphere to reflect the sun. Send a swarm of mirrors into
deep space. Engineer paler crops. Fertilize the oceans. Cover the
world’s deserts in shiny mylar. Spread cloud-seeding bacteria.
Release a global flock of micro-balloons. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/geoengineering-is-the-answer-to-climate-change-unless-it-isnt/2012/11/05/aef1c418-073d-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html
Letters: The war on global warming. Re "Where the shore used to
be," Nov. 4. The decade from 2001 to 2010 holds the record for
the most Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes: eight. In 2005,
Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and severely
damaged other cities on the Gulf Coast. Now we have Sandy, which
has caused tens of billions of dollars in damage in New York and
New Jersey. Will this decade break the previous record? How many
more hurricanes and tornadoes must occur before the governments
of the world admit that "we have met the enemy, and he is us," as
Pogo famously proclaimed? Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-1106-tuesday-sandy-jersey-shore-20121106,0,7309883.story
Frankenstorms fed by climate change triple whammy. It was the day
the ocean came ashore. As Hurricane Sandy lurched into the East
Coast, we watched in horror as floodwaters crippled Manhattan and
inundated more than 70 percent of Atlantic City. This
Frankenstorm has given us a hair-raising look at the power of
nature - and the harm and heartbreak it can inflict. But as a
scientist, I think it's critical to understand these disasters
are becoming more unnatural. The terrifying truth is that we face
a future full of Frankenstorms because of manmade climate change.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/06/4964132/frankenstorms-fed-by-climate-change.html#storylink=cpy
Nov. 6 Readers' letters: Cap and trade, Hurricane Sandy and
voting by mail
Clean energy doesn't have to be a trade-off. Our region didn't
get to the top of the cleantech sector by accident. ("San Jose
ranks No. 1 in cleantech," Page 2C, Oct. 25) Silicon Valley
boasts savvy entrepreneurs and forward-looking venture capital
firms. We also have a valuable asset that cities outside the
state lack: policies aimed at strengthening the clean-energy
economy while cleaning up the environment. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_21935946/nov-6-readers-letters-cap-and-trade-hurricane?source=rss
BLOGS
Prepare for Warm World, Says PwC. One of the main goals of the
international efforts to fight to climate change is to prevent
global temperature from rising over two degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels. Such a temperature change would cause
dramatic changes to the earth’s climate and have deadly
consequences by way of increased extreme weather recurrences.
Governments recognized that goal at the United Nations-sponsored
Copenhagen meeting three years ago –one of the minor outcomes of
a summit that had triggered huge expectations for a global,
binding treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Posted.
http://blogs.wsj.com/brussels/2012/11/06/prepare-for-warm-world-says-pwc/
How Natural Gas Kept Some Spots Bright and Warm as Sandy Blasted
New York City. As New York City and other communities buffeted,
flooded or darkened by the remains of Hurricane Sandy consider
steps beyond the immediate recovery, officials, business owners
and residents would be wise to spend time examining places where
the power did not fail. That's the essence of the approach to
post-disaster review suggested last week by the meteorologist
William Hooke, a senior policy fellow at the American
Meteorological Society. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/how-natural-gas-kept-some-spots-bright-and-warm-as-sandy-blasted-new-york/?src=twr&pagewanted=print
U.S. Fuel Economy Is at All-Time High, Researchers Say.
University of Michigan researchers said Monday that new cars and
light trucks sold in the United States in October had the highest
average fuel economy ever recorded on American vehicles — 24.1
mpg combined. Michael Sivak, one of the researchers, said in a
telephone interview that new vehicle sales showed a four
mile-per-gallon gain from October 2007 to October 2012, an
improvement of about 20 percent. Posted.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/u-s-fuel-economy-is-at-all-time-high-researchers-say/